New writing tech could bring 10x smaller processor chips

Technology keeps getting smaller and smaller and now researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have happened onto a new way to write data that could result in chips that are 10 times smaller than what’s currently available.

It works by using a writing arm that’s incredibly small. This arm would use lenses with plasmons to write data in a very compact fashion. With all of the data much more closely spaced together, more data can fit on a single chip, meaning chip size can be reduced dramatically.

These chips could end up being about ten times smaller than those that are currently available, which have 80 nanometer circuits. This new tech could be used in optical storage as well, making for more data written on each disc. All of this would result in compacter, faster products. Production is expected within three to five years.